Afganistan / What Now?

This whole situation was no win and Biden can’t be the only one held responsible. But the Biden’s leadership (or lack there of) has been a complete embarrassment. In yesterday’s press conference (which was a disaster in itself) Biden assured us, despite video evidence to the contrary, that the Kabul airport was under control and there would be no issues for Americans to get to the airport (he actually stated he had “assurances” from Taliban leaders and apparently he actually believed them). Now just 24 hours later, the state department is telling US citizens to not travel to the airport and also avoid all airport gates. Again, you can blame Trump, Obama or whoever else for what has happened in the past, but there is no doubt this withdrawal and evacuation has been a complete cluster and the lack of leadership from this President has been clearly evident. When you add the disaster at the border to this situation, we are becoming a laughingstock around the world.

 

didnt you just say there shouldn’t be politics when are people are in peril? Lol

 

i was willing to buy what you are selling on this until you brought up the “crisis” at the border lol. Jeeezus.

 

5 vs. 5000

What the hell kind of false equivalency is this lol.

 

5 taliban vs 5,000 taliban. Both were bad. Which is magnitudes worse? Take you time.

 

It was more their failure to comprehend the imminence of the Afghan government collapse.

They were clearly telling people to leave, but the urgency wasn’t there. It really wasn’t an “evacuation” until the Afghan govt folded.

The bureaucratic mess could have been handled better to move more Afghans. But the Americans there could have left at any time, especially if they weren’t working directly with DoD or have a U.S. govt purpose. Disappointed Biden didn’t do better at getting refugees out, but very few conservatives can maintain intellectual integrity here considering how they’ve previously killed refugee programs under Trump.

 

Let me help:
US signs peace deal with Taliban

I made this point awhile ago in this thread. Congress didn't raise the caps on the Special Immigrant Visas until nearly the start of August. We were very limited in our ability to evacuate Afghans. And that's not getting into the practical challenges.

What's baffling to me is why so many Americans didn't get out when they have known for awhile that we'd be pulling out. That doesn't mean Biden's people executed this well, but I'm pretty confused as to why many of these thousands of Americans didn't leave before it became a crisis.

(And that's not even getting into all the issues caused by the Trump administration's hatred towards immigrants/refugees. Mike Pence aide blames Stephen Miller for wrecking Afghan visa system)

 

Yep, not defending Biden here, but kind of hard to see why any Americans that had the option would stay after the Trump deal went down. Writing was clearly on the wall, especially since everyone now says they knew that the Afghan army was a sham and wouldn't protect the country. So why stay and put your and/or your family's life at risk?
Just hope all Americans and as many "friendlies" as possible are rescued. Not concerned with the loss of military hardware. Military contractors are the one group that always come out just fine

I suspect many of the right wing folks now criticizing Biden about not getting the friendly Afghans out will quickly change their focus if thousands of Afghans get out and want to be resettled here. It will then become...how catastrophic it is that the senile old man is letting thousands of terrorists into the US.

 

Man this is horrible. Going to need to come up with some physical logistical workaround. I feel for these people

 

That’s like comparing 5000 high school players to 5 nfl players. See where numbers don’t matter but who they are matters. It don’t matter because you will depend your boy no matter how incompetent he is.

 

Look up

 

Just pointing out facts.

 

You're being a massive hypocrite, dude. Trump's administration had the Taliban's cofounder (who was considered their best military mind) and a leader of their offensive released from jail.
Taliban’s Abdul Ghani Baradar is undisputed victor of a 20-year war
WSJ News Exclusive | Taliban Commander Who Led Attack on Afghan City Was Released From Prison Last Year, Officials Say

 

The guy that led the assault on Kabul was one of the 5k..NFL All Pro team to use your analogy

 

Humor break

 

Josh Marshall with an overlooked point. The high government officials that were in the Oval Office in late June, are working to form part of a coalition government now. thing are getting clearer.

You Wouldn't Know It From the US News Coverage, But ...

 

I know people hate the idea of working with the Taliban, but we might actually be able to make things better for the people of Afghanistan if we choose to employ the carrot/stick method instead of just locking them out. That's why it's smart for the Taliban to be diplomatic right now and not kill Americans.

 

Yea they would be nice partners and they Chant Death to America in such a sweet tone. They are barbarians dude.

 

Matt Yglesias making a lot of sense in this thread